Celtics predicted to break up winning rotation in three-team trade

Could the Boston Celtics go into business with the Detroit Pistons this summer on a big trade?

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz seems to think so.

On Tuesday, Swartz envisioned a three-team deal also involving the Brooklyn Nets that would send Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser out of town.

The Trade

Celtics receive…

• Isaiah Stewart

Pistons receive…

• Jrue Holiday
• Cam Johnson

Nets receive…

• Tobias Harris
• Sam Hauser
• Marcus Sasser
• 2026 first-rounder (Detroit)

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According to Swartz, the Celtics would be doing this trade to save money, plain and simple. 

“Holiday turns 35 next month and will be Boston's third-highest paid player next year,” Swartz wrote.

“Moving him and Sam Hauser in this deal for Stewart saves the Celtics $27.4 million next season and gets them out of the second apron.”

Detroit would be getting two starter-level players to help build upon a playoff appearance this season.

But why would the Nets get involved with this trade? Swartz believes the Nets would be willing to take on the veterans Harris and Hauser if it meant getting draft capital in exchange, especially since Brooklyn could ostensibly trade either or both of those players within a year.

“Brooklyn can use its cap space to take on veterans in exchange for draft picks,” Swartz wrote.

“The Nets get a lightly protected first-round pick from the Pistons in 2026 and should have interest in Sasser, a 24–year–old guard who was a first-round pick in 2023.”

“Both Harris and Hauser can be flipped to contenders in the offseason or at the trade deadline for additional draft capital.”

Swartz’s idea is intriguing, and his reasoning for each team is sound.

Still, it feels like the Celtics could get involved in a better trade for Holiday, even if they were open to moving him to cut costs.

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